assault_assaultpoint

assault_assaultpoint is a point entity available in all Source games. These entities form the body of an assault chain, specifying where the assault should go once it has begun. There can be any number of them in each chain. Make sure you are using ai nodes, otherwise you will have to have an assaultpoint for every single corner in your path.

 Bug: Specifying an assault_rallypoint as the next assault point will crash the game!

 Bug: When moving to an assault point partway through a chain, the NPC will go to the standing posture for a moment before continuing. This bug is fixed in the HL2 Episodes.

 Note: Unfortunately, there's no keyvalue to define a range at which an assaultpoint can be considered cleared. This means that if you have a large group of NPCs in an assault, the fact that they will continually attempt to move directly onto an assaultpoint, even if another NPC is standing there, can also break the illusion of realistic movement. Try making a trigger around your assaultpoint (once or multiple) that sends your assaultpoint a SetForceClear input with a fair delay time to make sure everyone is still grouped together.

 Note: Assault points only affect the journey to them, not from them.

 Note: NPCs will always turn to face in the direction the entity is set to when arriving at an assault point if they don't see an enemy before reaching the point. You can change the direction, indicated by a small yellow line, by changing the middle number of the Pitch Yaw Roll keyvalue.

 Tip: Naming assault points the same name will cause NPCs to randomly select one.

Not available in .

In code, it is represented by class CAssaultPoint, defined in ai_behavior_assault.cpp.

Flags

• 1: Clear this point upon arrival, UNCONDITIONALLY

Move on to the next point once reaching this one, regardless of any other influences.

Keyvalues

Assault Hint Group (assaultgroup) <string>

Constrain the movement of the NPC(s) participating in the assault to this hint group once assault has begun.

Next assault point (optional) (nextassaultpoint) <targetname>

The assault_assaultpoint to move to next.

Assault time out (assaulttimeout) <float>

This point is cleared when no enemies are seen for this long (specified in seconds). The NPC(s) at this assault point will scout for enemies this long before moving on.

Clear on contact with enemies (clearoncontact) <boolean>

If the assaulting NPC meets enemies on its way to this point, it will consider the assault point cleared and target the next assault point in the chain.

Allow diversion (allowdiversion) <boolean>

If the assault comes into contact with hostiles on the way to this assault point, divert to kill them and resume once the area appears clear.

• If it set to Yes, NPCs will chase any hostiles until they are dead or out of sight for the period set in the Assault time out.
• If this is set to No, assaulting NPCs will run non-stop to the next point, attacking enemies they can see but not chasing them.

Diversion Proximity (allowdiversionradius) <float>

If Allow diversion is set to Yes, NPC will only divert from assault to attack an enemy that is within this distance of the assault point. 0 means no limit.

Never Timeout (nevertimeout) <boolean>

If set, the assault never ends for NPCs assaulting this point. Useful for forcing NPCs back to a point.

Strict? (strict) <boolean>

If set, NPCs may not move to attack, avoid danger, or move out of the player's way.

Force Crouch (forcecrouch) <boolean>

NPCs using this assault point are forced into crouching while holding it.

 Bug: This only works for NPCs that crouch as part of their natural AI, such as Alyx and Combine Soldiers.

Urgent (urgent) <boolean>

If set, NPCs will consider movement to this rally point as Urgent Navigation (ignoring prop_physics blockers, eventually teleporting).

Base:

Classname (classname) <string>

The classname defines the type of entity. Classnames can be changed using AddOutput, which will influence how the engine deals with the entity in certain circumstances.

Name (targetname) <string>

The name that other entities refer to this entity by.

Global Entity Name (globalname) <string>

Name by which this entity is linked to another entity in a different map. When the player transitions to a new map, entities in the new map with globalnames matching entities in the previous map will have the previous map's state copied over their state.

Parent (parentname) <targetname>

Specifies a movement parent. An entity will maintain its initial offset from its parent. An attachment point can be added to the end of the name, separated by a comma. Every entity can be parented, even point entities. Entities which are parented will be forced to transition to the next map, such as from a trigger_transition. Some entities which aren't intended to be parented may not function correctly. phys_constraint can be used as a workaround to parenting.

Origin (X Y Z) (origin) <coordinates>

The position of this entity's center in the world. Rotating entities typically rotate around their origin.

Pitch Yaw Roll (X Y Z) (angles) <angle>

This entity's orientation in the world. Pitch is rotation around the Y axis, yaw is the rotation around the Z axis, roll is the rotation around the X axis.

 Note: This works on brush entities, although Hammer doesn't show the new angles.

Flags (spawnflags) <integer>

Toggles features of an entity, its specific number is determined by the combination of flags added.

Response Contexts (ResponseContext) <string>

Pre-defined response system contexts for this entity. Format is key:value,key:value,.... Contexts may be filtered.

Effects (effects) <integer> !FGD

Combination of effect flags to use.

Local Time (ltime) <float> !FGD

The local time of the entity, independent of the global clock. Used mainly for physics calculations.

Next Think (nextthink) <float> !FGD

Amount of time before the entity thinks again.

Hammer ID (hammerid) <integer> !FGD

The entity's Hammer ID. Mainly used by plugins and debugging commands, such as ent_keyvalue. Can be manually assigned with the "hammerid" or "id" keyvalue. Entities spawned at run-time are not assigned any Hammer ID.

Disable for Xbox 360 (disableX360) <boolean> (in all games since ) !FGD

If Yes, disables this entity on the Xbox 360 version of Source.

Entity Scripts (vscripts) <scriptlist> (in all games since )

Space delimited list of VScript files (without file extension) that are executed after all entities have spawned. The scripts are all executed in the same script scope, later ones overwriting any identical variables and functions.

Script think function (thinkfunction) <string> (in all games since )

Name of a function in this entity's script which will be called automatically every 100 milliseconds (ten times a second) for the duration of the script. It can be used to create timers or to simulate autonomous behavior. The return value (if present) will set the time until the next call. Try to avoid expensive operations in this function, as it may cause performance problems.

Lag Compensation (LagCompensate) <boolean> (in all games since ) !FGD

Set to Yes to lag compensate this entity. Should be used very sparingly!

Is Automatic-Aim Target (is_autoaim_target) <boolean> (in all games since ) !FGD

If set to 1, this entity will slow down aiming movement for consoles and joystick controllers when the entity is under the crosshairs.

Inputs

SetClearOnContact <boolean>

Sets the Clear on Contact with enemies keyvalue. Accepts 1/0 or Yes/No as parameters.

SetAllowDiversion <boolean>

Sets the Allow Diversion keyvalue. Accepts 1/0 or Yes/No as parameters.

SetForceClear <boolean>

Set the Force Clear flag. NPCs who are currently running to the assault point will clear it immediately. NPCs who acquire it in the future will clear it automatically.

Base:

Kill

Removes this entity and any entities parented to it from the world.

KillHierarchy

Functions the same as Kill, although this entity and any entities parented to it are killed on the same frame, being marginally faster than Kill.

SetParent <string>

Move with this entity. See Entity Hierarchy (parenting).

SetParentAttachment <string>

Change this entity to attach to a specific attachment point on its parent. The entity will teleport so that the position of its root bone matches that of the attachment. Entities must be parented before being sent this input.

SetParentAttachmentMaintainOffset <string>

As above, but without teleporting. The entity retains its position relative to the attachment at the time of the input being received.

ClearParent

Removes this entity from the the movement hierarchy, leaving it free to move independently.

AddOutput <string>

Evaluates a keyvalue/output on this entity.
Format: <key> <value>
Format: <output name> <targetname>:<inputname>:<parameter>:<delay>:<max times to fire, -1 means infinite>

FireUser1 to FireUser4

Fire the OnUser outputs; see User Inputs and Outputs.

Use  !FGD

Same as a player invoking +use; may not do anything. Can also be invoked by creating an output that does not specify an input.
This input is not included in Valve's FGDs.

DispatchEffect <string> (removed in ) !FGD

Dispatches a special effect from the entity's origin. Removed and replaced entirely by the particle system since .

DispatchResponse <string> !FGD

Dispatches a response to the entity. See Response and Concept.

AddContext <string>

Adds to the entity's list of response contexts. Format is <key>:<value>.

RemoveContext <string>

Remove a context from this entity's list. The name should match the key of an existing context.

ClearContext <string>

Removes all contexts from this entity's list.

RunScriptFile <script> (in all games since )

Execute a VScript file from disk, without file extension. The script contents are merged with the script scope of the receiving entity.

RunScriptCode <string> (in all games since )

Execute a string of VScript source code in the scope of the entity receiving the input. String quotation may be needed when fired via console.

 Bug:  In , the code is executed in the script scope of the entity that fires the output, not the one receiving the input.

 Warning: Never try to pass string parameters to a script function with this input. It will corrupt the VMF structure because of the nested quotation marks, which then must be removed manually with a text editor.

CallScriptFunction <string> (in all games since ) !FGD

Execute a VScript function in the scope of the receiving entity.

SetLocalOrigin <coordinates> (in all games since ) !FGD

Send this entity to a spot in the map. If the entity is parented to something, it will be offset from the parent by this amount.

SetLocalAngles <angles> (in all games since ) !FGD

Set this entity's angles.

Outputs

OnArrival

Fires when a NPC arrives.

 Note: This can fire more than once since NPCs tend to divert from assault points to reload or avoid danger.

OnAssaultClear

Fires when the point is cleared (arriving and clearing can happen at completely different times).

Base:

OnUser1 to OnUser4

These outputs each fire in response to the firing of the like-numbered FireUser1 to FireUser4 Input; see User Inputs and Outputs.